How to Reset Windows Update Components in Windows 11/10?

Besides drivers and other security enhancements, Windows Update components are responsible for downloading and installing all the feature and quality updates. They are indispensable. However, sometimes the cache gets corrupted or some related services go wrong, Windows update issues appear.

Although there are many ways to fix the update problems, if you always run into update errors, you should reset Windows update to its default settings. If the Windows update fails to install, this will be quite useful.

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Well then, how can you reset Windows Update components? This is an easy task and you can follow these methods below.

How to Reset Windows Update Components on Windows 11/10?

Run Windows Troubleshooter

In Windows 11/10, some useful snap-in troubleshooters can be used to fix several computer issues. Windows Update Troubleshooter can be used to fix update issues by resetting some components that need it.

Follow these steps to reset Windows Update components:

Step 1: Right-click the Start button and choose Settings from the context menu.

Step 2: Go to System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.

Step 3: Locate Windows Update and click Run.

This troubleshooter will start scanning for any issues and fix them. Note that this way only resets Windows Update components when needed.

Run Command Prompt to Reset Windows Update Components

Resetting Windows Update components via Command Prompt is a time-consuming process but it is fairly effective. The process is a bit complicated and you should follow the guide below for this task.

Step 1: Launch Command Prompt in Windows 11/10 with admin privileges.

Step 2: Run these commands below to stop the BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service), Windows Update service, and Cryptographic service and press Enter after each command.

net stop bits

net stop wuauserv

net stop appidsvc

net stop cryptsvc

Step 3: Delete the qmgr*.dat files by typing this command – Del “%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\qmgr*.dat” and press Enter.

Step 4: Rename the SoftwareDistribution and catroot2 folder by typing the commands below and press Enter.

Ren %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.bak

Ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 catroot2.bak

Step 5: Run these commands to reset the BITS service and the Windows Update service, and then press Enter after each command.

sc.exe sdset bits D:(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU)

sc.exe sdset wuauserv D:(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU)

Step 6: Run this command – cd /d %windir%\system32.

Step 7: Type the following commands to re-register all the related BITS and Windows Update .dll files and press Enter after each line

regsvr32.exe atl.dll

regsvr32.exe urlmon.dll

regsvr32.exe mshtml.dll

regsvr32.exe shdocvw.dll

regsvr32.exe browseui.dll

regsvr32.exe jscript.dll

regsvr32.exe vbscript.dll

regsvr32.exe scrrun.dll

regsvr32.exe msxml.dll

regsvr32.exe msxml3.dll

regsvr32.exe msxml6.dll

regsvr32.exe actxprxy.dll

regsvr32.exe softpub.dll

regsvr32.exe wintrust.dll

regsvr32.exe dssenh.dll

regsvr32.exe rsaenh.dll

regsvr32.exe gpkcsp.dll

regsvr32.exe sccbase.dll

regsvr32.exe slbcsp.dll

regsvr32.exe cryptdlg.dll

regsvr32.exe oleaut32.dll

regsvr32.exe ole32.dll

regsvr32.exe shell32.dll

regsvr32.exe initpki.dll

regsvr32.exe wuapi.dll

regsvr32.exe wuaueng.dll

regsvr32.exe wuaueng1.dll

regsvr32.exe wucltui.dll

regsvr32.exe wups.dll

regsvr32.exe wups2.dll

regsvr32.exe wuweb.dll

regsvr32.exe qmgr.dll

regsvr32.exe qmgrprxy.dll

regsvr32.exe wucltux.dll

regsvr32.exe muweb.dll

regsvr32.exe wuwebv.dll

Step 8: Launch Registry Editor, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\COMPONENTS and then delete some incorrect registry values including PendingXmlIdentifier, NextQueueEntryIndex, and AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving.

Step 9: Restart your computer and then open CMD as an administrator. Then, type the command – netsh winsock reset and press Enter to reset Winsock.

Step 10: Execute these commands below and press Enter after each one command to reset Windows update services:

net start bits

net start wuauserv

net start appidsvc

net start cryptsvc

Step 11: At last, reboot your computer to let all changes take effect.

That’s all the steps to reset Windows Update components in Windows 11/10. Just follow the detailed process to easily do this task when needed.